The US military is monitoring a new space object, which the Western media have already called the new Russian "satellite killer". In particular, this was reported by the Russian news agency TASS with reference to representatives of the Strategic Command (Stratcom) of the Pentagon. Stratcom employee Martin O'Donnell noted that surveillance is underway for the object 2014-028 (this is the name the satellite received in the media). At the same time, the US military refrained from making any comments on the purpose of this spacecraft, did not comment on this information in NASA and NORAD - the Joint Aerospace Defense Command of North America. At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense and Roskosmos also did not give any official comments about the unusual satellite.
Today, we can only say with complete confidence that some space object was actually discovered. However, the true purpose of this object remains unknown. Russian military experts were skeptical about the news in the Western media regarding the launch of a killer satellite by Russia. It is worth noting that a wave of media hype was raised after an article about the Russian "killer satellite" was published on November 18 in the Financial Times, an international publication in English.
The item, which has been identified as "Object 2014-28E", is displayed on a dedicated site that tracks the movement of satellites in Earth's orbit. It was reportedly brought into space by a Russian launch vehicle back in May 2014. Also, this rocket launched 3 military communications satellites "Rodnik" into earth orbit. Initially, this object was classified as space debris, but recently it has begun to move in orbit. In particular, it is reported that he approached other Russian satellites, and last week the remains of a stage of one of the missiles. Some Western experts have considered that this facility may be an experimental satellite capable of performing military functions.
In an interview with the British newspaper FT, Patricia Lewis, who serves as director of research at think tank Chatham House, noted that the 2014-28E resembles an experimental apparatus. Its functions can be very different: part civil, part military. There is a possibility that he has a capture device, he can also jam other satellites or make cyberattacks on them. However, its purpose can be purely peaceful, for example, the Financial Times noted that it can be used for refueling, repairing or cleaning up space debris.
The Financial Times notes that the ability to destroy a satellite or disrupt the work of an entire satellite constellation of enemy communications can be considered as part of a powerful military potential. But the legacy of the arms race and the "space race" in recent years, especially after the fall of the "Iron Curtain", has receded into the background. Many secret developments of scientists from the USSR and the USA were slowly put aside. However, in recent years, interest in the topic of the use of weapons in space has been reviving. The journalists of the British newspaper recalled that in 2007 the PRC launched a rocket, which successfully hit the Chinese satellite. And in 2008, the United States conducted similar tests.
At the same time, Russia in the past was one of the main supporters of the signing of an international agreement on the prevention of the deployment of weapons in space, but Moscow's efforts were unsuccessful, say British journalists. The FT cites the opinion of an unnamed military expert from Russia, who noted that against the backdrop of the rapid progress of other states and the cooling of relations between the West and Moscow against the background of the Ukrainian crisis, Russia could revive the program to create a satellite fighter, now it could make sense …
Opinions of Russian experts
An unnamed expert in an interview with Interfax noted that the experimental mini-satellite can be used to test fundamentally new engines. Since in May the Rokot launch vehicle launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome put into orbit 3 military communications satellites: Kosmos 2496, 2497 and 2498, the fourth satellite, which became known only now, received the following serial designation Kosmos 2499. Expert in An interview with Interfax drew attention to the message that appeared on the website of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, which states that in October 2014, regular work in Earth orbit as part of a spacecraft created by OJSC Information Satellite Systems. Reshetnev”, began correction units based on Hall-type plasma engines belonging to a new generation. It is possible that the object 2014-28E discovered by foreigners is related to these tests.
Launch of the Rokot rocket from the Plesetsk cosmodrome
It should be noted that Hall-type plasma motors are classified as electromagnetic motors with an external magnetic field. Closed electron drift plays a fundamental role in motors of this class. Currently, the Russian Federation occupies a leading position in the field of creating such power plants. Russia has managed to accumulate unique experience in their practical use. The first flight tests were carried out back in 1971, and in 1982 such engines began to be routinely used in space. The main field of application of such engines is the maintenance of geostationary communication satellites in the directions "west-east" and "north-south". Beginning in 2004, Hall engines from Russia began to be used on board foreign spacecraft from leading companies in Europe and the United States. Currently, three of the top five space satellite companies use Russian Hall engines - Space Systems / Loral (USA), Thales Alenia Space (EU) and EADS Astrium (EU).
The expert believes that this version is confirmed by the fact that Kosmos-2499 can only be a mini-satellite, its mass is unlikely to exceed 50 kg, given the mass of the payload that the rocket is able to launch into a near circular orbit with an altitude of about 1500 km - carrier "Rokot", which, among other things, launched into space and 3 military satellites "Rodnik" of quite a large mass. He also noted that if traditional engines were used on the satellite, then, taking into account the restrictions on fuel reserves, the satellite would not be able to perform the number of maneuvers mentioned. This suggests the conclusion that something new is really being tested on this spacecraft, most likely a miniature new engine.
It should be noted that in the USSR there really was a program for the creation of an anti-satellite weapon called "Fighter of satellites". So, on November 1, 1968, a successful attack was carried out, when in orbit the space interceptor Kosmos-252 was able to destroy the target satellite Kosmos-248. The anti-satellite system developed in the Soviet Union was in service with the Space Forces until the early 80s of the last century, it could guaranteed to hit any satellite. However, it is premature to say that the work within the framework of this program was resumed again. In addition, there are many other simpler and cheaper options for destroying satellites than creating fighter satellites.
Yuri Zaitsev, a full academic advisor to the Russian Academy of Engineering Sciences, believes that the very fact that the West detected the launch of three newest modifications of the Strela-3M Rodnik low-orbit communication satellites, but overlooked the fourth satellite, is out of the question. The United States has today deployed a fairly accurate and powerful system for observing outer space, and even Russia sometimes uses their data. Therefore, Yuri Zaitsev believes that the information about the appearance of the Russian "satellite fighter" is simply sucked from the finger. He expressed his opinion in an interview with Svobodnaya Pressa. The very appearance of such information, he called sweeping accusations from the West against Russia.
Another military expert, Viktor Myasnikov, noted that the whole message of the article in the Financial Times boils down to the fact that a certain object was discovered in orbit among the space debris, which may not be “debris”. At the same time, the article contains the opinions of experts, but there is no specific information, data - why the detected object cannot be a lost satellite, its part or other space debris. Myasnikov noted that, as he understands, this device does not emit signals and simply flies, among other things, debris in a certain orbit. The fact that no one had seen this device before, but suddenly it suddenly appeared, may indicate either the imagination of the people who discovered it, or that it was simply overlooked. But this is hard to believe, since the United States has powerful over-the-horizon radars and hundreds of satellites in orbit. Viktor Myasnikov also believes that everything that happens is just another fantasy and speculation from the West.
Any satellite can be easily knocked down with strike weapons: an ordinary blank or a cloud of steel shot, which will simply pierce the satellite's vital systems, primarily solar panels. In addition, there are various electronic suppression systems, when all the microcircuits can be burned out from the pulse of an electromagnetic bomb. At the same time, in the event of the start of full-scale hostilities, the enemy's space systems will be disabled in the first place, which will lead to disruption of the interaction of all ground, air and sea components. However, for this it is not at all necessary to launch into orbit any objects that would remain there.
The editor-in-chief of Arsenal Otechestvo magazine, Viktor Murakhovsky, who is also a member of the Expert Council of the Chairman of the Military-Industrial Commission under the Russian government, notes that a number of satellites are “not announced” - this is a common practice both on the part of our country and the United States. For example, every year, the US National Aerospace Intelligence Agency, which launches and operates military satellites, puts undeclared objects into low-Earth orbit about which information cannot be found. It is clear that our country has every right to do the same. Therefore, there is no sensation that an “unaccounted for” Russian working apparatus was discovered in orbit.
If we talk about the satellite fighter program, then it implies finding military objects in Earth's orbit that could shoot down enemy satellites. However, even in the USSR, this program was recognized as very expensive. Therefore, back in the Union, the development of a satellite interception system began, which was based on the MiG-31D fighter-interceptor, which was equipped with the 79M6 Contact anti-satellite missile. Let's just say that this program has now been resumed, said Viktor Murakhovsky.
There is another relatively simple and very effective way to combat satellites - raising a warhead with a capacity of about 1 megaton to an altitude of 200-250 km. After the explosion of this warhead, all satellites within a certain radius of destruction will simply "die out", all this will happen in seconds. Of course, no one has yet canceled the method of individual interception of space objects, but at present neither Russia nor other countries have satellites in orbit that would be designed for interception, noted the editor-in-chief of Arsenal Otechestvo. It is obvious that any satellite has its own service life and it is simply irrational to keep it in orbit of the Earth all the time. In this case, ground-based anti-satellite systems are much more effective both in terms of cost and prospects.
